Phoenixes of the Dawn
by Furor Scribiendi
Summary: AU - Two pilots have been trained in secret by the colletive minds of the scientists. An attack on a town and the degenerating conditions of the war force them to be activated and intergrated into the original team. Do they fly solo or work with the rest?
1. Out of the Ashes

A/N: This is THE very first Gundam Wing story that I ever wrote and quite frankly, I know, you'll probably hate me for this, it will be an epic. I mean if I have just past thirty chapters on paper *if you could see my sad, and much battered, notebooks, you'd understand* then I have a pretty good idea that this will be one of THOSE stories. 

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_Prologue - Out of the Ashes_

Loud music blared out of the large silver stereo that sat on the shelf above the desk. And whirling around the room, in rumpled pajamas, a dark-haired girl danced to the beat, singing at the top of her lungs into her hairbrush. She was so wrapped up that she never noticed when her bedroom door was opened and the two people stood there watching with some amusement. 

"Mercedes…what are you doing?" 

She whipped around at the deep voice, sheep faced and beet red. "Um…getting ready for school?" 

"Looks more like you're trying to be late again. Your father won't drive you this time young lady." the ginger-haired woman walked into the room. "Just get ready and come down for breakfast, all right?" she looked at her daughter and smiled. "Don't forget to brush your hair." 

"Yes Mama." she said with a good-natured roll of her eyes. "Anything you want to put in Papa?" she peered over her mother to give the tall man in the doorway an arched eyebrow. 

"We're having waffles." he gave her a smirk before he walked out and headed downstairs. 

"Hurry up dear." 

Mercedes glared at the door as her mother shut it and headed to her closet. _'Papa always does that to me. He always manages to get me out of my room on time, no matter what. Such a pain sometimes…'_ She grabbed a pair of jeans and a decent shirt, not wanting her mother to give her another lecture about dressing like a nice young lady. She dashed out of he room grabbing her school bag and flying into her seat at the kitchen table. 

"Four minutes…not bad." 

"Don't tease her so Jonathan. You haven't been a saint either." 

"Speak for yourself Marie." he placed a plate of waffles down in front of Mercedes. "Your turn to cook tonight." 

"What do you want?" she asked before taking her fork and attacking her plate. 

"I'll…er…leave that up to you." Marie said as she sipped her coffee. "Must you eat like it's your last meal? Chew, then swallow." 

"Wastes time." Mercedes said before she filled her mouth with the buttery, syrupy, food. 

"She's hopeless." 

"Aren't we one to talk Marie." Jonathan said as he sat down with a similar plate. "Come on Mer, you're gonna be late for school if you don't hurry." 

"Yeah, I know." she said. There was another reason why she didn't want to go but that could wait for another day. _'The truth can wait until tonight. I'll tell them for sure tonight…tonight is the night…'_ She stuffed the rest of the waffles and ran to the door, sliding her feet into the beat up old sneakers on the shoe mat. 

"You can't wear those shoes!" Marie said as she stood up. 

"Yes I can. Bye Mama! Bye Papa! Have a good day!" she said before running out of the door. 

Mercedes immediately stuck her headphones on, tuning out the rest of the world as she walked down the street towards her school. _'Math test first, dissection second, presentation third, lunch and then another presentation only on a short little Frenchman who nearly took over the world. I will be so glad once this day is done. I'll never have to see, hear or talk of Napoleon Bonaparte ever again.'_ She started humming along with the music, glad to have her presentation board in her hand. Odd, her hand felt rather light… 

"Shit, my board!" she yanked her headphones off, trying to think where she could have possibly left it. "On top of my desk!" she smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand, cursing her forgetfulness. "Now I gotta walk back and get it. I really am gonna be late today." 

She mumbled to herself, saying that she would never again decide to waste her time in the morning when she could be making sure that she had everything. The day was fairly quiet and peaceful, something she wasn't inclined to appreciate today in her current mood, so she slipped her headphones back on. It took her the usual fifteen minutes to walk back from her halfway journey, her house finally in sight. She looked up, feeling a large powerful vibration run through the earth that made her look up. All she saw was a dark shadow before the entire world burst apart with a bright orange color. 

She couldn't move; it was as if the entire world seared apart and took her along for the ride. Her body went limp as things fell on her with bruising force. Trapped beneath stones of some sort, she could only see a faint patch of blue sky, now interrupted by the thunderous roar of gunfire and the silhouettes of mobile suits. _'Mobile suits…'_ She tried to force her injured body to move but found the weight on top to be immovable. The only thing she could feel was the slight breeze that came with the mechas passing, cold and fleeting, almost like an odd sort of finality. 

"Mercedes!? Are you still in there? Hang on!" 

She didn't say anything finding her vocal chords to scorched to move. The light blinded her eyes as the weight around her head was yanked away hurriedly. She gave a small cry as the bright sunlight flooded her irises, pain lancing through her head. All she knew next was the blissful darkness as it took hold of her relieving her from the intense light. 

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	2. Poke an' Shoot

A/N: To answer Rocky's question, Mercedes and Raven are trained to act with the other pilots, as a unit or individually. In other words, they are the wild cards so to speak. ^^ 

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_Chapter One - Poke an' Shoot_

The somewhat strong scent of antiseptic greeted her olfactory sense first as the others stirred. The faint beeping of a machine greeted her hearing next followed by the feel of soft sheets beneath her touch. And she finally opened her eyes; bright light seeped in making her squeeze them tightly. 

"Mer, please tell me that you're up now." 

She remained silent for a moment, hearting her best friend's voice, before she opened her eyes gradually, allowing them to become used to the harsh whiteness. "Ra…ra…" she croaked out faintly as her throat started to protest audibly. 

"Don't talk. The doctor says your vocal chords have pretty much gone. She says it should take about half a year for them to heal completely." 

Mercedes eyes bugged out of her head as she stared at the brunette in the seat beside her bed. _'I can't talk at all?! Damn it.' _

Don't worry, you remember sign language right?" Raven pointed to herself with a huge grin. "But if you forgot, I know the entire alphabet." 

She rolled her eyes at that flopping back into the bed and covering her face with a pillow. _'This is hopeless!' _

"Oh come on, it's not that bad." Raven leaned in close. "Besides, we have to get out of here in a few hours." 

Mercedes gave her a puzzled look with an arched eyebrow as she mouthed the word 'why'. 

"We've been activated. We're supposed to rendezvous in three days in a safe house." 

Mercedes sat there for a moment, recalling the gestures for the letters and phrases. "How far away is the house?" her hands flew around in rapid movements. "And just who are we rendezvousing with?" 

Raven laughed somewhat. "The house is about a few hours from here. I figured we go early and get some rest." 

Mercedes gave a nervous sort of smile before she swung her feet out from underneath the blankets. "Clothes?" she gestured, looking around. 

"Right here, along with your school bag." Raven hauled up the fairly weighty bag. "Don't take too long now." 

Mercedes nodded before a thought struck her. "Did you run away again?" 

"What do you think?" Raven said in a somewhat disgusted voice. "Get changed and so we can get out of here." 

Feeling somewhat hurt at the abruptness of her response, Mercedes ducked into the bathroom and whipped off the hospital gown. She winced slightly as parts of her ached with pain. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, the ugly purple bruises, angry welts and blisters seemed more repulsive. She dimmed the light, rooting around in her bag and finding the clothing. She pulled the shirt and pants on easily enough before she slipped back out. 

"I wasn't able to find you shoes." Raven said in an apologetic tone as she walked over to the door. 

Mercedes brushed it aside, sticking her head out the doorway to see an empty hall. She eased on down to the stairwell, the frigid air rushing up to hit her in the face. She started down at the insistent push on her shoulder, toes curling against the icy floor. Ignoring the discomfort, she hurried down the flights until Raven grabbed her arm and pulled her into an alcove suddenly. Mercedes gave a tiny cry of protest before she shut up; Raven may have inadvertently grabbed onto a bruise but there had to be- 

"Where could that girl be? It's not like we let patients go walking around at this hour of the night." the man's voice sounded concerned. 

"Don't worry Sir. I'm sure she was just feeling a bit independent. She is a teenager after all." 

Mercedes looked up, seeing the silhouettes moving along the wall before they disappeared through the door on the floor above them. 

"Come on. The train I got tickets for leaves in an hour." 

_'Train? Just how far is this place? Is it out in the sticks?'_ Mercedes ran after Raven, the warm summer air brushing against her skin once they made it outside. 

"Are you hungry or anything? I had the doctor give me a planned food regime for you." 

"What can I have now?" she asked. 

"Mostly liquid stuff. Like puréed pears or applesauce." 

Mercedes gave a frown before she shook her head. 

"You don't want that? I'll get you a bottle of water then." Raven said. "Maybe I should get a car or something. Your feet must be killing you." 

Mercedes shook her head and continued walking steadily on. Her feet did kill but it didn't make sense to risk the exposure when the train station was only a few blocks away. When they finally arrived, they found the people boarding the cars. She did her best to look pitiful as Raven gave a cover story to the conductor as to why Mercedes had no shoes. 

"Almost thought that wouldn't work." Raven said with relief as they made their way down to their private cabin. "Thirsty?" 

Mercedes shook her head as the train gave a whistle and a lurch forward, gazing out the window. "I can wait a bit." she gestured before stretching out in her seat. "How did you know the doctor was there?" 

"Maybe if you weren't so preoccupied, you would realize that their footsteps were coming down the stairs. You can't be doing stuff like that when we get suited up you know." 

Mercedes didn't respond, simply watching as the city started to thin out to fields of grass and trees. _'Suited up…I can't even-'_ She sighed and closed her eyes, not wanting to think about it. Now all she wanted was sleep and lose herself in the oblivion once again. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Come on Mer, you have to eat something. Have a sip at least." 

Mercedes gave Raven a nasty look before turning her nose up at it. 

"Jeez, you're gonna starve to death before we meet whomever we're supposed to? Aren't you the least bit curious as to who we're meeting, why and what they look like?" 

Mercedes shook her head before she stomped off into the living room 

From the moment they arrived in the rustic country house, the most she had eaten was a bit of water and some very soft bread, in accordance with the diet. _'Stupid diet, I can't even eat a slice of pizza. That damn doctor decided to starve me out.'_ She flopped down onto the couch, staring angrily at the blank TV screen. 

"Mercedes, come on. This isn't like you. You have to eat something. These people are coming by in the evening you know." 

She looked up at Raven before she gave a clearly callous shrug and turned back to her intent staring. 

"If he was here you wouldn't be acting like this." Raven sighed as she sat beside her. "Why won't you tell me what's really wrong?" 

"It's not important at the moment. He's is the one who has us here now." she said quickly before she folded her hands back in her lap. 

"I know but this is weird even for you. What happened when your house was hit? Were your parents still in it?" 

Mercedes remained silent for a few minutes. "I don't know." she motioned slowly. 

Raven fell into muttered curses, wondering how she could overlook something so obvious. "Well do you think they're dead?" 

"I-I honestly don't-" 

She stopped hearing a creaking sound come from the front door. She glanced over at Raven who had her gun out and was inching towards the doorway jamb silently. Mercedes rose slowly, looking for a weapon that she could defend herself with. Spying the poker by the fireplace, she took it and made her way to Raven's side. Raven held up five fingers before she made a spreading motion. Nodding her head, she tightened her grip on the poker; five intruders and they had to hit hard and fast. 

"Hey…this is a nice house here…" 

"Be quiet Maxwell. Your loud prattling could wake-" 

The harsh words were cut off as they burst out from behind the wall, Raven screaming her head off. The five people jumped back, startled. The three brown haired ones had drawn their guns; the sloe-eyed one had a sword out and the lone blond one looked as if a truck had run him over. 

Mercedes looked around at the situation as neither made a move to lower their weapons. Slowly, she lowered the poker before she gave them an inquisitive look. 

"What wrong with her? Can't she talk?" 

Mercedes glared down at the longhaired brunette before she started to play with the poker. 

"She just lost her voice. Normally she doesn't shut up." Raven said standing up. "Are you the ones we're supposed to meet here?" 

"We're supposed to meet the pilots here. I'm sure that's not you two," the one holding the sword said in a disdainful voice. 

"And what makes you so sure of that?" 

"You're women." he said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

Raven was about to answer when Mercedes cleared her throat, calling their attention towards her. She looked at them all before looking at the guy and promptly giving him the finger. Two of the others started snickering, trying their best to not laugh out loud. 

"Wufei, I kept telling you, you would get that one day," the longhaired one said, somehow, in a straight voice. 

"Shut up Maxwell." Wufei said somewhat harshly. 

"Yeah, well guess what?" Raven said with something close to a smirk. "Meet your new comrades." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	3. Remnants

A/N: I've realized that having Mercedes hand gestures in quotations might make it slightly confusing...so her gestures are now in this format: -Mercedes' words-. Hopefully this will cut back on any confusion that may have occurred in the first chapter, which has been fixed by the way. And I can't stress this enough: Mercedes is using sign language to communicate now. Please keep that in mind. When she gets her voice back...if she does ^_~...I'll make sure it's perfectly clear. ^^ 

_Chapter Two - Remnants_

Mercedes sat down at the rickety old table on the back porch, hands curved around the mug of hot chocolate. The predawn morning was cool and somewhat misty. Thin shreds of fog hung over the fields, giving landscape a somewhat surreal quality. 

_'I don't have to do this,'_ She took a sip, her mind turning over the possibilities. _'I could try to find my uncle.'_

She shook her head at that; the problem was that she had never met her uncle when she could visibly recognize him. All she could recall of him was a faded blur of a face with smiling blue eyes. And she wasn't even sure if he wanted anything to do with her. _'Mother always hinted at something that happened between them.'_ With a sigh of frustration she rose and went back inside, looking at her schoolbag that she had left on the kitchen table. Only it was now on the floor and Wufei sat at the table, a cup of tea in his hand and a book before him. 

She nodded curtly, acknowledging his presence before she picked up her bag from where he placed it. _'Odd. I didn't have my laptop in it. Guess its Raven's.'_ She removed the slim black rectangle. Searching for a plug, she found it and started it up. Every once in awhile, she would glance up at Wufei before she looked back down at her screen and what she was typing. _'He doesn't look very happy.'_ She made a sound of exasperation as she spied the flashing icon in her system tray; it seemed that she had a mission of some sorts already. 

Double clicking on it, a new screen popped up, the blue highlighting the white words. She paused, placing her mug back down as she read the words on the screen. _'This can't possibly be right. I thought we'd be activated as coverts, not...not this.'_ Frowning, she closed the screen and rose, walking back into the living room, mug in hand. It said to pull on the gnome on the mantelpiece. Sure enough, when she searched, a tiny little gnome sat tucked away in the corner, obscured from sight by the corner of the bricks. 

With a frown at the thick dust, she grasped the gnome's hat and pulled. The entire fireplace pulled back revealing a descending set of stairs, faint light coming from lamps in the walls. She started down slowly, the smell of the cool, and somewhat musty, air making her wrinkle her nose. 

_'I should have put on slippers.'_ She disregarded the chill of the floor, as she stepped out onto a smooth floor. Pausing, she knocked on the side of the wall, an echo traveling through the massive darkness ahead of her. _'What was that? The echo ended sooner than it should have.'_ Curious, she knocked once more, hearing that peculiar sound of an obstruction. _'A rather big one from the sound of it.'_ She walked along the wall, running her hand against it until she brushed against the bumps of a light switch. 

Taking a sip of her drink, she flicked them on, light flooding the wide area rapidly. _'Now what seems to be the problem?'_ She looked around until she found the source. The mug dropped from her hand, shattering into tiny pieces as she gazed at the two large towering creations. _'I don't believe it.'_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Raven smiled as she stretched in the warm bed. It was certainly a nice change from being woken by surly servants at six in the morning just so she could get ready to attend her hellish school. 

"What should I do first today? Take a jog? Have breakfast? Or just watch some TV?" she mused aloud to herself as she stood up. "I think I shall-" 

She jumped as her door burst open, Mercedes framed by the hallway shadows. A relieved sigh coursed through her followed by a wave of anger. 

"Don't you know how to knock? There's something to be said for...hey! What now?!" she protested as Mercedes took her hand and started to drag her off. 

Yanking her hand back, she followed Mercedes down the living room. She gave a small smile and 'Good morning', seeing Trowa and Heero seated quietly in the living room, having a discussion. She sat down on the floor as Mercedes walked up to the fireplace. 

"What are you guys doing up so early? Or are you both early risers?" she asked conversationally. 

They all looked at each other before Trowa shifted slightly. 

"We're-" 

"What did she do?" 

Raven looked up at Heero's words to see the fireplace moved back and Mercedes standing there with an anxious expression on her face as she motioned for Raven to come. She rose and followed her friend down with a sigh, wondering just what she was up to. Seeing the fireplace moved was a surprise yes, but what could be so important or urgent that it had Mercedes practically frantic? 

A shiver passed through her as they descended further and further. Just what could have been down here? Was it something they were even supposed to see? She paused as she found herself facing a huge block of shadows. 

"Um...Mer, what are we doing down here? And just how did you find this place?" 

Mercedes made a motion, telling her to wait as she searched for the light switch once more. With a sigh, Raven leaned against the wall, waiting to see what could be so urgent. Glancing over, she saw the other five pilots, Duo and Quatre looking somewhat asleep, while Wufei had a somewhat irritated look on his face. She was about to stop Mercedes when the whole hangar flooded with light. 

She blinked rapidly as her pupils dilated and then started to shrink. "Mer, give a little warning next time. Jesus, what now?!" she exploded with exasperation as she felt Mercedes hands lifting her head up sharply. 

As her sight cleared, two large shapes loomed in her vision. Sleek black and blue stood beside red and black, in testament to the scientist skills. Her gaze drew almost instinctively to the red and black one; it looked amazing, the colours gleaming in the light, the chain whip coiled around in a holder while the hands almost looked like claws. The other one was more muted the blue and black gleaming just as brightly though. From behind, the handle of its weapons could be seen, hiding what it really looked like, while the hands hung loosely by the sides. 

"I don't believe it." she breathed as Mercedes finally let go of her head. 

"Are they giving them out so freely now?" 

She looked back to see Wufei almost choking on disbelief while the other pilots had expression ranging from mildly surprised to amazement much like their own. Feeling a nudge in her side, she looked back at Mercedes. 

-I think there was something wrong in the mission readout for us. It said that they were ours. - Mercedes motioned with a worried expression. 

"I'm not complaining with that!" Raven said in a happy voice but quieted down seeing Mercedes glare. "Well, come on; did you really think that he would just leave us with no hardware to get the job done? Have more faith Mer." 

Still the look didn't disappear from her eyes. - But look at them. If they fell into the wrong hands, then we would be a bad tactical disadvantage. - 

"And they won't." she faced her. "Look, for once in your life, don't question things and just go with it?" 

Mercedes frowned but nodded her head anyway. - Just don't make it so I have to bail your ass out. - 

Raven couldn't help but laugh at that. "You wish. But I ain't gonna bail yours out." 

- Eh heh. - Mercedes smiled slightly, as she looked back at the other five. - Look at them; they're astounded. Maybe they all think on some level that we can't do it? - 

Raven arched an eyebrow as she looked at her best friend. "Then we're just gonna have to show them, aren't we?" 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mercedes watched as Raven went up with the rope. _'She'd better not fall and break her neck.'_ She couldn't stop the frown that descended on her face. 

"Stop doing that!" Raven yelled down at her. "We get to try them out, would you smile for a bit? It's payback time!" 

Mercedes crossed her arms and sat on the foot of her Gundam. The idea had occurred to her but she was extremely loathe to actually follow thorough with it; who knew what would happen if they acted far too cocky now that they had the most feared weapons of the war in their hands. 

"Are you gonna get moving or what?!" 

She rose slowly as she looked down at the footrope lying on the ground, waiting for her to step into it. 

"Scared onna?" 

She threw Wufei a withering scowl before she stepped onto the wire and tugged, activating the winch. She looked down at the other pilots who stood clustered around the computer console. 

"Good luck!" 

A smile came to her face at the sound of Duo's cheery voice. She stepped off lightly, pausing on the door, taking a deep breath. This was it; the start of something she wasn't even sure she was cut out for. 

Hesitantly, she walked inside and buckled up as the door closed. _'Payback time indeed.'_ She sighed as she grasped the thrusters and readjusted her grip on them. The doors opened slowly, revealing the night sky. Firing up the thrusters, she flew out beside Raven and across the bare countryside. When the monitor gave a beep and a window popped up, she glanced to see her friend's face. 

"You know what kind of weapons you got?" she asked with something of a grin. 

Mercedes nodded her head, as she leaned forward on the throttle slightly. She honestly didn't know what they were but agreeing with Raven was sometimes the only way to get her off of her back. She didn't say anything more as they approached the base, just up ahead in the distance, the area still quiet. Even when Raven shook out her whip and cracked it once as they landed, nothing sounded. It was once she lashed it against a building, causing the structure to collapse, that alarms wailed out in a loud scream. 

She didn't think, whipping her own weapons out and started over to the large hangar; the mission parameters read to destroy every single hangar that was there as well as the control building. She slashed and ripped alternately, feeling anger well up inside her, hot and fast. The suits came faster as the soldiers fought to save their base, explosions tearing through the once peaceful night air. Before long, the air was silent, filled with curling black smoke and smouldering ashes. 

Mercedes watched out from her monitor before she unbuckled her restraints and opened her cockpit door. She looked around as she took in the devastation that they had caused to the base. She winced slightly as she felt the heat radiated up through the soles of her shoes before she walked forward. Husks of buildings remained the jagged beams of wood standing out against the sky like twisted corpses. She wandered through a frown on her face; this is what they were supposed to do? Granted, she could see the reason to fight Oz, they were becoming more oppressive by the day, but to his extent? This extent of elimination was required? 

She could hear Raven's voice behind her, calling insistently for her to come back so they could leave the faint words of something coming reached her. She halted her steps and kicked up a pile of ashes. _'Just how many more times will I have to do this? Go to this level?'_ She sighed, turning to leave when she spied something out of place in the spot she had turned up. Bending down, she brushed away the cinders and looked at it more carefully. 

The yellow metal was warped and bent out of shape, but the stone remained intact, glimmering beneath the flakes. She placed it in her hand ignoring the heat as she turned it over. Why would something like this be on a base? Turning it over revealed a section if the jewellery that had managed to escape the blast somehow. 

A horrified look crashed down over her face as she read the partially erased inscription on the what was once the smooth back. _'To my dear M.M.K - J.S.'_ She gazed at it horrified as her brain refused to accept what it saw there, yet horribly flashing back to the breakfast that seemed so long ago. 

_"I'll…er…leave that up to you." Marie sipped her coffee. "Must you eat like it's your last meal? Chew, then swallow."_

Mercedes felt tears well up in her eyes as she remembered her mother sitting with a regretful expression on her face, the sunlight coming in from the window, and shining on her necklace...her ruby necklace...the same one that now lay twisted almost beyond recognition in her hand. She fell to her knees, scrabbling in the debris, searching for another clue that would disprove her or worse yet, confirm her suspicions. 

"Mer, come on!" Raven came up and grabbed her arm sharply. "We gotta get out of here! Now!" 

She snatched her arm back and continued searching; she didn't care if she was captured or even killed at this point. She didn't want to live trough this without knowing, despite the part of her that was clamouring for ignorance. A hoarse sob came from her throat as she stopped with shaking hands, looking down at the half scorched steel watch face that was missing its bands, the small insignia on the side unmistakable; it was her family crest. She snatched it up and hunched over it, tears falling down her now smudged cheeks. 

"Come on!" 

She was forcibly hauled up and pushed back towards her Gundam; she stumbled at some parts moving like a dead person. She made it back in and numbly started up, not bothering to harness herself in. All through the trip back to the hangar, she felt a black pit open up inside her, wider and wider with each passing moment. Before she realized it, she was jarred by the sound of the doors closing with a resolute shut; they had arrived already. She opened the door and started down on the winch, her hand clutched tightly around the objects. 

"So....how'd it go?" 

She looked up as Duo stood there with a huge smile on his face. He was smiling for God's sake. Smiling after they, after she, had to go out there and cause such needed murder and massacre. Smiling.... 

She ran past him, as she looked away, the tears spilling down her face again. She tore up the stairs heading for the room she had to share with Raven. Making it in, she locked the door and collapsed on the bed, sobs wracking her body. Insistent pounding came on the door, followed by Raven's concerned voice. She ignored it. She held fast to the last things she had to remember her parents by, as anger and sorrow coursed through her; Oz would pay for this. 


	4. Quick Step

_A/N_: I didn't forget about this fic…just got a bit sidetracked is all. *koff koff* Had to work out some things for the plot and all. Namely going through all the ol' notebooks I had and seeing what would and wouldn't work. And since that's been all resolved…away I go!! 

Chapter Three - Quick Step

Raven looked at Mercedes' door with a worried expression before she tried the doorknob once more; it was still locked. She shook her head as she walked downstairs and plopped herself down on the couch, watching the TV with a somewhat blank expression. She glanced over at Duo as he waved a hand in front of her face before she looked back at the TV once more. 

"Raven, what's up?" Duo asked as he peered at her. "She's been in her room for the past two days now. Don't ya think she should come out now?" 

"She should. But she locked the door. I don't what the hell upset her so much." she rubbed her face briskly with her hands. "I was half tempted to break down the door and see what was going on in there." 

Duo paused. "Well, you know her best, I guess." he shrugged as he leaned back in the seat. "She may thank you, or just punch you. One of the two." 

"Punch me? I'm usually the one punching her for something!" Raven said as she started to chew on her lip. "Hey, where are the others? Still asleep or something?" 

"Probably. I only got up to watch cartoons. It is a Saturday morning after all." 

"Me too. Got anything good and sugary to eat?" Raven looked at him hopefully. She smiled as Duo tossed her one of the boxes. "Thanks." 

"Just make sure you eat it before Quatre comes down; he doesn't like it when we eat this kind of stuff." 

Raven just nodded her head, mouth too full to answer. The living room was filled with the loud explosions from the television, as well as quiet chewing. When she heard the quiet shuffle of feet, she looked up hopefully; maybe it was Mercedes. 

"Oh. Morning Trowa." she said before she held out the box of cereal. "Want some?" 

He shook his head, heading for the kitchen." 

"There's Cheerios if you don't want Fruit Loops!" she called after him. 

"Trowa doesn't really eat this kind of stuff." Duo whispered as he leaned closer to her. "He's gonna have a cup of tea." 

Raven made a face. "Tea? Ick. Speaking of which, I could go for some coffee ." she placed the box down as she ate the last few bits of cereal in her hand and headed for the kitchen, looking through the cupboards until she found the things she needed. She quickly dumped the instant coffee mix into the mug, inhaling the scent of mocha from the can. She smiled faintly before she poured the water in and gave it a stir. She walked over to the table, the sugar bowl securely held in her fingers. She winced slightly as the chair scraped against the floor before she seated herself. Immediately, she dumped in three spoons of sugar and drank, a wide smile coming to her face as she swallowed the warm liquid. 

"Ah; much better." 

"Better than Fruit Loops?" 

She looked up at Trowa's quizzical expression. "Even better than Fruit Loops; it's Mocha Frothy. Coffee is my only other vice after sugar." 

Trowa regarded her for a moment before he went back to his cup of tea. "Too much caffeine." he said. 

Raven didn't say anything as she contemplated his words; they were just there, not a rebuttal or a condemnation; it was just there, out there in the air between them. She shrugged slightly to herself as she continued to drink; sure it may have had too much caffeine, but with the way her life was some days, she needed the jolt to simply wake up and function like a normal human being. 

"Hey," she gazed up at the floorboards as she heard a rustling. "Did you hear that?" 

Trowa nodded. "Sounds like she's up." 

Raven didn't say anything more as she hurriedly fixed a cup of hot chocolate and hurried up the stairs. She paused outside of Mercedes' door, unsure, before she knocked against it with her knee. "I've got hot chocolate. " she winced, feeling like she had to bribe her best friend to open the door for her. 

No response came for a moment until the door creaked open slowly a few minutes later, the shadowed room revealed. Raven walked in, looking for the nearest table to rest the mug on. When the door slammed shut suddenly, she jumped slightly; she felt the tiniest bit worried and freaked out. She turned around to see Mercedes standing against the door, staring down at her bare feet. 

- Is that for me? - she looked at Raven for a split second, her eyes red-rimmed. 

"Yeah." she held it out, watching as Mercedes took it, her hand shaking slightly. "Do you want to talk about it whatever it is?" 

Mercedes shook her head before she took a long drink, her stomach growling noisily. 

"That's what you get for not eating properly. I guess by now, you can eat at least some solid food. How about some eggs and bacon for breakfast?" 

- That sounds good. - Mercedes motioned as she opened the door and headed out. 

Raven bit back her involuntary gasp of surprise as Mercedes stepped out into the light in the hallway; she looked horrible, as if she had gone through some sort of emotional train wreck. Red eyes with huge bags underneath them and a general haggardness around her shoulders. Raven didn't say anything, placing an arm around her friend's shoulders as they made their way down to the kitchen. 

As soon as she seated Mercedes at the table opposite Trowa, she went to work, breaking out ingredients and pans, creating a general mess. Every once in awhile, she would look back, seeing Mercedes stroking something in the palm of her hand, blocked from view by her fingers. The barely veiled look of anguish and searing pain made her own heart constrict with empathy; all Mercedes had was her parents and her. And the news reports had said there had been no survivors from the attack, placing Mercedes' parents at home when they died. 

She barely looked up from her meal preparations as Duo bounced into the kitchen whom only quieted down once he saw Mercedes. The same thing happened as Quatre entered the kitchen; a somewhat relieved look crossed his face as he spied her cooking but then it vanished to be replaced by a rather sober expression. Even when Wufei came down, grumbling about something, it quickly subsided as the sombre air in the kitchen dampened whatever spirits anyone may have had. 

Raven quickly dumped the food onto plates and stuck it in front of everyone, hoping that eating would detract from the depressing air. _'Heero's the only one who isn't here.'_ She rolled her eyes as she heard faint steps coming down the stairs. _'Speak of the devil.'_ She quickly put together a plate for him at the last place at the table, looking at him as he entered the kitchen, printouts in his hand. He looked at her for a moment before shaking his head. Raven bristled slightly. 

"I cooked it. The least you could do is eat it! I'm not about to let food go to waste." she said as she pointed imperiously to the empty chair. 

"Then you eat it." he said. 

"I don't eat breakfast. I made breakfast for the five of you. And five people are going to sit here and eat, damn it." she shot him a look that dared him to press the matter further. 

A somewhat anxious aspect came to the atmosphere in the kitchen as everyone else looked at Heero, waiting to see what he would do. After a few moments, Heero seated himself and started to eat with a somewhat disturbing, and clinical, manner. Raven paused, watching him for a moment. Either he couldn't be bothered to press the issue further with her and simply ate to shut her up or he was really hungry and didn't admit it; either way the food was being eaten and she couldn't complain. 

"What's this Heero?" Raven asked, looking at the papers he rested on the table beside his plate. 

"New mission orders." he replied before he took another bite of bacon. 

Raven paused, feeling slightly bothered by Heero's manner of eating. Heero had to be the only person she knew who ate with efficiency; with his own infamous efficiency no less. Everyone else took some sort of pleasure in eating, no matter how small, even Wufei. Shaking it off, she placed her fingers on it, looking at Heero with a questioning look before he nodded. 

"Ah." she nodded to herself as she riffed through the papers, glancing at the two people in question before she looked it over once; it wasn't her eyes playing a trick on her. "Ok, these are the new orders. Heero, Duo and Quatre have to head off to Africa and eliminate all the weapons factories in Zimbabwe, Kenya and Nigeria; that's fifteen in total. Wufei and Mercedes," she glanced at them as Wufei looked horrified and Mercedes simply stared at the object in her palm, stroking it. "You two have to head to the Polynesian Islands and confirm if the rumors of new missile developments are true. Trowa and I, we're heading to Brazil to do some basic reconnaissance on some Oz elites." 

"Aw," Duo groaned. "I wanted to go to the Polynesian Islands!" 

That comment seemed to lighten the mood as Quatre and Trowa chuckled. "Duo, maybe you'll have better luck next time." Quatre said as he finished off the rest of his eggs. 

"Hey, wanna switch?" he asked looking at Mercedes. 

"Yes!" Wufei said quickly. 

Mercedes shook her head slowly, eyes still glued to the palm of her hand. 

"You are more than free to take my spot Maxwell." Wufei said. 

Duo looked at him, a bit surprised by the earnest tone in his voice. "Uh, think I'll stick to Africa, thanks though Wu-man." he got up and dumped his plate in the sink before ambling out of the kitchen. "Now he's bargaining. He must really be desperate." 

Raven snickered at that thought before she straightened her face as Wufei scowled darkly at her. "What?" she asked, trying to look innocent. "I can't help it if I find there to be some truth in what he says." 

Wufei started muttering something about women as he stalked out of the kitchen. Raven took the empty chair that Duo had occupied beside Mercedes, waiting until Quatre and Trowa were done. She hadn't even noticed when Heero had finished eating and left. She seated herself with the remnants of her coffee, taking small sips. As soon as Trowa and Quatre vacated the kitchen she turned to her friend. 

"Mercedes?" she bent in close, trying to see her friend's expression. "You sure you gonna be OK?" 

Mercedes didn't say anything for a few moments. - I'll be fine. Don't worry about me; worry about Wufei if he pisses me off enough. - 

Raven chuckled slightly at her words. "Yeah, I thought I was seeing things when I read the sheet too. If you can't tolerate being around him, you know I'll switch with you." 

Mercedes shook her head. - You don't have to do that. Let's see if he can deal with a mute well. Then we'll see if he can back up any rants he has in him about me. - 

"You're going to enjoy this aren't you?" she groaned as Mercedes gave her a faint grin. "I swear, you can be a little sadistic sometimes. Look, about your parents-" 

- I know…that they're dead. I spent the last few days struggling with that fact. - Mercedes lapsed into a brief moment of silence. - But the most I can do now is not dwell on it and focus on keeping my skin alive and the missions. I know they are never coming back, and I've accepted that; it still doesn't stop the pain. - 

Raven nodded. "I was starting to think I would have to snap you out of some hell of a depression. If you need anything during the mission, just let me know all right?" 

- All right. I'm taking my laptop with me anyway; God knows we'll have data to analyze and work with. Oh, the joy of physics. - Mercedes made a face. 

"You know it." Raven smirked, knowing the dirty look Mercedes would give her. "Aren't you glad you finally got vectors though?" 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

The general hustle of people heading to their flights did nothing to calm down Raven as she and Trowa made their way to their gate in the crowded airport. Maybe she should have spoken sooner, said something, taken a bloody boat instead of this. Boats she could handle; hell, she could pilot a steam cruiser if she had to. But this was an entirely different story. She looked around uneasily before she saw Trowa a few steps ahead of her, a patient light in his eyes. She murmured something in apology as she picked up her steps; obviously, he didn't like taking such a slow pace in a public place. Not that she disagreed with that; the sooner they left the better. 

Raven felt another sort of anxiousness take hold as she waited with Trowa in the line at the gate, noticing a few televisions around the area; if she knew her parents, she would have to duck and cover for a few minutes until they could board their flight. 

"Raven. Raven." 

"Hm?" she looked at Trowa startled by his quiet, and insistent, voice. "Yes?" 

"Our flight has been delayed for fifteen minutes." 

The anxiousness sharpened, making her painfully aware of how long fifteen minutes could be. "All right." she said, nodding her head. "I'm just going to have a seat." 

She didn't wait to hear Trowa's response, if he even had one. She managed to find two empty seats in a relatively inconspicuous corner, sitting down there and grabbing the newspaper that rested on the seat beside her. She opened the newspaper and held it up, obscuring her face from the view of everyone, but she could still see the televisions that were mounted on the ceiling. 

"Raven, are you all right?" Trowa asked in a slightly curious voice. 

"Yeah, perfectly fine." her eyes were glued to the TV screen. "Just keeping track of what's going on in the world you know." she said in a somewhat distracted voice. _'Please don't let them be looking for me.'_

Raven sat there, the uneasiness needling away at her insides as the seconds ticked away into minutes. Her eyes kept shifting to the clock that ticked away in the top left-hand corner of the screen, numbers moving in what seemed to be an infinitely slow manner. Every couple of minutes, she would glance at Trowa and then the gate, where the attendant stood by the door, looking bored. Finally, she breathed an immense sigh of relief when the flight attendant opened the door, the other passengers starting to the door. 

"In other related news," the newscaster on the television started. "The affluent Whyteford family is now se-" 

"Hey Trowa, they're boarding now." she practically threw the paper down. "Come on." 

"I'm watching-" 

Raven never gave him a chance to finish, dragging him from his seat and running for the door, forcing him to keep up with her. She slipped past all the other passengers, breathless as she came to an abrupt halt in from of the attendant. With the excuse that this was her first flight, she handed the tickets to the attendant, and took the stubs back, hurrying down the boarding walkway and onto the plane. As soon as she sat down in her seat by the window, she yanked the blind down, sinking down into the seat. 

"Can I even ask, what all of that was about?" 

Raven sighed and closed her eyes as Trowa settled into the seat beside her. She briefly contemplated telling him the truth; but she had specifically requested that her particulars be kept from the others. There was no way that they would, or could, comprehend why she had chosen to do this. If they knew, they would only see her as someone pretending to be something she was not; an imposter amongst their ranks, sent to spy on them for the enemy. 

"Well, for starters, I am not too fond of travelling by plane." she said; at least that much was true. "Bad incident when I was younger. And I thought I saw some plainclothes Oz agents back there in the airport." 

Trowa didn't say anything for a few moments before he nodded and relaxed back into his seat. Raven looked thoughtfully at the window blind, feeling a bit guilty for lying to Trowa. She had told him as much of the truth as she dared to. But who was she kidding; there were absolutely no Oz agents in that airport. And here they were heading out on a mission that would require a certain degree of trust between them. She sighed, rubbing her temples; at least she had prevented him from seeing the news report. Similar ones had aired before, but it was a rare occurrence. _'Man; now I have to make sure he doesn't see it at all; I can only hope the others don't. Jesus, I think even Mercedes is having more luck than me at the moment.'_

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 


End file.
